For fans of Millennium, Perry Lang will most likely be known for directing the season two episode, Monster. In the wider sense, Perry is a director, writer and actor who has contributed to countless series' and movies both in front of the lens and behind. Considering how busy he is we were delighted when Perry agreed to take time from his schedule to speak to us about the genuinely unnerving experience that is, Millennium 'Monster'.

BACKTOFRANKBLACK: As far as genre and cult offerings go, it would be simpler to mention what you haven't directed rather than what you have. All directors must have a unique approach and vision which they bring to the projects they are working on. What would you define as a 'Perry Lang' approach to directing? If you could pick a shining example of your style at its zenith, what would it be?PERRY LANG: My approach to directing is essentially text driven. In other words the script talks to me... after reading it as many times as possible. I've gone through a lot of phases that might be defined as a style, now I just like listening to the script and seeing what it's saying, if that makes any sense.

BTFB: You have a very balanced history of work in front of the camera and behind it. From a personal perspective which affords you the greatest degree of personal satisfaction, acting or directing? Do you believe it is essential to have experienced life in front of the lens to be effective behind it?

PL: I don't believe you need to be an actor (or have been one) to understand how to work with them. For me, it a took a while to understand how each individual actor works within his/her process. I stupidly assumed early on that all actors worked like me and in that I was completely mistaken. I enjoy good material and I would have said for the last twenty years that my only desire would be to write or write and direct but as I get older, the idea of acting again sounds appealing.

BTFB: I have noticed that you appear to direct a couple of episodes of a series before moving on to the next, as most Directors do. Do you enjoy this aspect of your work or would you appreciate a longer tenure on a show? Are there pros and cons to both aspects of your profession? From a totally uneducated perspective, when a new Director visits an established franchise how is it ensured that your work, whilst distinctive, reflects the established mood and theme without being incongruous?

PL: I enjoy moving around. Creatively I actually get bored with a show after directing a few episodes but sometimes I miss working with some of the people on certain shows and moving on often means leaving those working relationships behind.

A director doesn't have to work too hard to make the show he's doing look like the series it's a part of. There are so many elements that remain the same, it pretty much takes care of itself. That said, there are particular parameters in which you need to work but it's not as hard as it may seem. In some ways a director has to keep looking outside of the rut in order to keep things fresh.

BTFB: When you approached 'Monster' were you aware of Millennium, its unique approach to story telling and the types of themes it dealt with? How would you assess the experience of working on the show and the results? Have you watched this episode in retrospect and critiqued you work with the value of hindsight?

PL: For me it was a chance to do something dark and I appreciated that aspect. I don't believe I actually even saw the episode.

BTFB: Monster is one of a number of episodes that signaled the change in narrative and style that the second season of Millennium attempted to introduce, it introduced a popular new series regular, Kristen Cloke and eased a number of metaphysical aspects into the overall arc that would become prominent throughout the season. Were you aware at the time, and conscious of, the fact that you were in the process of somewhat redefining a franchise?

PL: No, not really, I guess I understood it didn't have the audience that X-Files did but it was a much darker piece. I didn't watch a single episode after directing Monster.

BTFB: A vast portion of the people we have spoken to have espoused warm memories of their time with the cast and crew of Millennium, aside from the technical side of your job as the episode's director, do you recall your time fondly with regards to meeting Lance, Kristen and the rest of the cast and crew?

PL: I was happy, in that particular case, to move on to something else.

BTFB: As you know, we exist as an entity primarily geared to raising awareness of the groundswell of support that exists, and grows, with regards to a movie adaptation of Millennium. From a behind the scenes perspective, do you agree that this particular franchise is ripe for such an adaptation and considering the notable changes to the mood and theme during the show's three seasons, where would you pitch such a project in terms of narrative, content, characters and so on?

PL: I'm glad you've found something (maybe something I never saw) in the show and I hope that you're able to find it again in a feature film form. I sincerely applaud your passion.

BTFB: What can admirers of your work keep their eyes open for with regards to the continuing career of Perry Lang?

PL: I've in the final stages of post in Web Series that I've written and directed called Blue Belle, I hope you get a chance to see it soon.

BTFB: Once again, thank you so much for such a kind donation of your time, it truly does matter to an organization of individuals who have appreciated, discussed and dissected your work, with much pleasure, a thousand times over.

PL: Thanks for your interest. I thought your questions were well thought out and to the point -- I appreciate it.

In the Millennium mythos no-one comes close to being as loved and feared, in equal doses, as the nefarious, and admittedly very beautiful, Lucy Butler. Sarah-Jane Redmond delivered such an enjoyable performance that this character is heralded, and rightly so, as one of the true gems of the franchise.

In reality, Sarah-Jane could not be more different from her devilish alter-ego, she has championed the fans of Millennium for many years now and the support and warmth she has shown this campaign has been no different. We are delighted that we will soon be able to bring an exclusive interview with Sarah-Jane to your attention but in the meantime, whet your appetite by entering our competition to win a fantastic signed photo of Lucy also emblazoned with the immortal words, 'Love is Blue'. All you have to do to get your hands on this stunning prize is send your name and address to info@backtofrankblack.com and mark the subject header as Lucy Butler.

Please note, this competition is now closed. The winner has been chosen at random and will be notified by email. Results of the competition will be made available in episode three of our podcast, scheduled to be released on Sunday 31st May. Thank you all for your entries!

Before we bid you adieu and good luck, we have listened to the feedback we have received and altered the settings of our Blog to allow anyone to comment without the need for prior registration. All comments will require approval but we hope you make good use of these changes and leave a comment or two, we are always eager to hear what you guys have to say!

We have continuously reminded you all of the need for fans of the franchise to demonstrate their appreciation of Millennium in order to provide evidence of the wide support the franchise continues to elicit. To this end we asked you to consider taking a few moments of your time to complete a simple questionnaire that we can utilise. We thank all those who responded to our request and, as promised, here are more thoughts from the heart of Millennium fandom. If you have responded and have not seen your contribution here do not be dismayed. We will use all the responses we have received in due course.

Please keep these coming and do not hesitate to send us all your thoughts and queries on anything Millennium and Frank Black related and as you can see from this entry you do not have to use your real name to qualify. If you would like to complete the brief questionnaire I have listed the questions below for your perusal.

1. About You.

2. Why are you a fan?

3. How long have you been a fan?

4. What's your favorite episode.

5. What's your favorite scene or moment?

6. If a movie was made which characters would you like to see in it?

7. Why do you think Millennium should come back?

1. What are you watching right now?

We are constantly trying to devise new and exciting ways you guys can get more involved in the campaign and the ways in which you can do this are not limited to our suggestions and creativity alone. If you have an idea for a way you would like to contribute to the campaign do not hesitate to send us an email. We will respond to each and every one of you. We look forward to hearing from you all!

A quick apology in regards to the MP3 version of the podcast, a slight technical error meant it was missing the last thirty minutes! We have rectified the issue and you can now download either podcasts at our website or Itunes in full.

Thanks for the feedback that helped us locate this issue. We'll be more careful in future!

To subscribe to the Itunes podcast, simply load up the Itunes store on your Itunes application, search for BacktoFrankBlack and wait for the podcast to pop onto the list. Then click "subscribe" - you will need to sign up to a free Itunes account to do this - but Itunes does run a great service for podcasts of all types (including our friends ThaDarkSideVibe and Spooktalkular)

BacktoFrankBlack: Millennium Group Sessions 02 - Legion

In this second episode, Troy Foreman and Jim McLean give you, the potential very dear listeners, podcast brimming with Millennium's Legion! We have Legion himself, The Judge - actor Marshall Bell in an exclusive BacktoFrankBlack Interview, a chance to win a signed photo of Legion incarnate, Lucy Butler, AKA Sarah Jane Redmond, an informal discussion about Legion in season one by Jim and Troy and of course, news updates on the campaign and the cast/crew of Millennium. (97 mins)

This free podcast is available on a fortnightly basis via ITUNES and BacktoFrankBlack.com. We'll naturally update you all on information on the podcast from this blog as well.

With ITUNES, anyone who has an Itunes friendly account will be able to subscribe easily and download the podcasts as they are released. We recommend the ITUNES friendly enhanced podcast because each episode will have its unique set of images to accompany the chatter!